In northern countries where the climate during the winter is harsh, removal of the snow from roads and highways is of great concern. Large organizations such as municipalities of governments are equipped to handle this job with heavy machinery specifically designed for snow clearing purposes. These machines are very efficient but are expensive and bulky. For individuals who have to clean a relatively small area, such as passageways or private driveways this heavy equipment is ill adapted.
Hitherto, small all terrain vehicles such as three-wheel motorcycles of the type sold under the trade mark Honda ATC, or four-wheel vehicles of a similar size, were not used for clearing snow because they are not designed for such use. In particular, their frame and driving train are not strong enough to withstand the force of the impacts encountered when using snowplows of conventional design. During the operation of a conventional snowplow, the blade often hits obstacles such as stones, blocks of ice or objects protruding from the ground which are hidden by the snow and therefore invisible to the driver. Such obstacles impose severe stresses to the snowplow blade which are transmitted to the chassis of the vehicle pushing it. With the small all terrain vehicles of the type contemplated, such stresses would soon damage the vehicle and necessitate costly repairs.
During the operation of a snowplow utilizing a conventional rigid blade, the later rests on the ground while the vehicle pushes it forwardly. The bottom edge of the blade acts as a scraper and not only removes the fresh snow off the ground but also scrapes the ground surface. When a conventional snowplow is operated on a sloping or an uneven terrain, its rigid bottom edge tends to dig into the ground thus hitting the ground's irregularities which has the effect of considerably slowing down the vehicle, and, in most cases, damaging the surface of the ground and the edges of the adjacent lawns or gardens.
Generally speaking, a conventional rigid snowplow blade has the tendency to level the terrain which is cleaned by flattening the irregularities. In the majority of the cases this does not present any major problems since the vehicles used with these prior art blades are sufficiently strong and powerful to achieve such a levelling action. However, if a small all terrain vehicle is to be used with a conventional blade, it will not be able to operate in a satisfactory manner since it is not powerful enough and it does not offer a good traction because of its reduced weight, in order to achieve a levelling action.
Another problem which renders difficult the adaptation of these small vehicles for snow removing purposes resides in the fact that the snowplow blade has to be attached to the front end of the vehicle, and therefore the front suspension has to carry the weight of the snowplow blade, which may be substantial, and further has to take the pressure and the load exerted against the vehicle during the snow removal operation. These loads may damage the front suspension.